The Agent's Target
by MajorWhitlocklvr89
Summary: Jasper left the Cullens right after Bella's 18th birthday. Returning to his former diet, he is later recruited by the government and becomes their best spy/assassin. 5 years later, an assignment reunites him with a Bella he no longer recognizes. What happened to make her a target and who is Jasper really working for? Will he kill her, or protect his woman and mate?
1. Disclaimer

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Twilight world...I just mess with their lives and pair them off with whomever I wish**

**So don't sue me**


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Twilight world...i just get to mess with the lives of all the characters...so don't sue me for anything

A/N: so the majority of this story will be in Jasper's POV...just want to go ahead and put that in the first chapter so readers won't be confused

Also, I have an author's page on Facebook...check out my profile for the link and like it for updates and pics

On with the story...

Ch. 1

Christ I hate tuxedos. They're so fuckin' uncomfortable and so stiff. I'm not a formal kinda guy, so when I have to put these damn things on, I'm not a happy camper. Not to mention that they remind of the Pixie bitch I rather forget. Stupid controlling bitch and her fucked up family. I was never happy until I left them. Only thing that made it bearable was the human that Eddie boy figured himself 'in love' with. Please...

If he had been in love with her, he never would have been able to hurt her or leave her like he did. Oh yes, I saw that whole nightmare. I never thought that Eddie could be that cruel, but he proved me wrong that day. Well me, Emmett, and even Rose. Rose had been furious when he saw what he did to Bella. She liked Bella enough and wanted to be her friend, but Eddie made it seem that she didn't and ended up frightening Bella so much that she wouldn't even come near Rose. The three of us saw what he was doing to the poor girl and wanted to intervene, but we were all held back by my bitch of an ex-wife and the parentals. Fuck, Carlisle is a joke of a coven leader. He caters to them because they have the 'better' gifts. Asshole.

Back to the tux. I hate the damn thing, but it is necessary for what I am about to do tonight. A party that has my kind as the only guests is happening tonight and my 'employers' have managed to get me in. My buddy Peter has assured me that all will be well and that I got the job for a reason. What that reason is, he won't tell me. Cryptic bastard, but at least he's not like the ex. According to my employers, this party is supposed to be a meeting of sorts between vampires who take part in the underground fighting network. The network which happens to be illegal in both worlds because of who the fighters are: kidnapped humans. Men and women kidnapped merely for vampire entertainment. I was supposed to go, make nice, and get enough information so that my bosses could bring it all down. Well that and kill the top fighter there because apparently the fighter was making things really suspicious. Too suspicious for my employers who wanted to keep this operation as much under wraps as possible.

That wasn't the only reason I was going according to Peter. All he would tell me when I asked was that a part of my past was there and a shit storm of trouble would soon follow. Nothing that would get me and that past killed, but shit would be coming once I found that person. I just hoped it wasn't the ex and that fucked up family of 'vegetarians'. God I had been so stupid as to believe in that crap.

When I left the Cullens, I immediately went back to Texas and my old ways, which included hunting humans. I kept with Peter and Charlotte's way of hunting which included the dregs of society, the criminals who escaped justice, and the terminally ill. When I got to their property, we had a big bonfire and they burned everything I had dragged with me, including all the clothing the Pixie bitch forced on me. Only things I kept were my jeans, my boots, and a few of the button downs I could tolerate wearing. Everything else got burnt to a crisp.

I get in the car and I start driving towards the destination already keyed into the GPS. I have to say, being a government lackey does have its perks. Good house, great car, and even better pay. First thing I bought after the house was a new car. 2012 Mustang GTO in the darkest black I could imagine. Even the interior was black. It suited me, not to mention that any blood stains were covered by the dark color. As I drive, I remember how I got involved in my current 'career'.

FLASHBACK

It had been six months since I left the Cullen house, four since my bitch of an ex sent me divorce papers stating that she couldn't 'babysit' me anymore. I remember laughing when I had Jenks send them back signed, and with a pic of my new self, red eyes and all. I also sent them notice that Jenks would no longer be helping them in the future with any relocation or setting them up with false documents. Last I heard from them, through Emmett, was that they were calling any allies they had to try and find a new lawyer. I had laughed for hours when he told me that the Pixie for some reason could not see me and had raged when the letter from Jenks came.

I was hunting near Galveston, keeping to the shadows and all that crap. I had fed on one asshole already that night, but I wanted another just to keep me sated for a longer period of time. Not that it mattered, my control being so good that I could go nearly three months without feeding, but I never wanted to take a chance in case I ran into someone I knew. I had just spotted my next target when a huge black limo pulled up next to me. The window went down and someone asked, "Mr. Jasper Whitlock?"

The sound of my human name was still strange to me, so it took me a second to respond to the person in the car. Once I acknowledged that person they said, "Please get in. We have much to discuss." I was hesitant at first, but figured that if it went south, I could just drain whoever was in the car, driver too. I slid into the limo and it started driving again. I turned to face whoever had spoken to me and was shocked to find it was none other than Jenks, and another woman. It had been her I heard, but Jenks had been the one by the door, which had thrown me off.

He nodded to me and turning to the woman said, "I got him in the car. The rest is up to you." She never moved forward to where I could see her and the voice that came from her direction creeped me the fuck out now that I was closer to it. She said, "I would like to apologize for the subterfuge Mr. Whitlock, but this was the only way to get to talk to you. You have a very odd schedule." I nodded, allowing her to talk before I said anything. For despite the fact that she was human, she seemed dangerous to me. As if she could end me without a single problem.

She continued, "I have a request to make of you." That's when she told me everything. Humans knew about us. Apparently despite the Volturi's number one rule, the humans, or at least their government, knew about our existence. This woman was offering me a job. If I worked for their government, they would continue to keep the existence of vampires out of the public eye. Apparently her agency was the only doing so, as the others wanted us destroyed. I did ask her what would happen if I refused. This is where Jenks apparently came in. He said that if I did not agree to her request, he would be forced to divulge all of his files to her agency. Every vampire in the world would be revealed merely because of their need to reinvent themselves. As for me, I would be destroyed merely because of what I was capable of.

I agreed, mostly because I didn't want those I cared for and trusted to be exposed. A few days later, I was escorted to their training facility. Not that I needed it. I showed them exactly what I was capable of and a month after that strange ass meeting, I was doing my first job. I never met the woman again and Jenks seemed to disappear. After a few months, i just let it all go. I did the jobs and took the pay. Sometimes it was humans I would have to get rid of or spy on, other times it was other vampires. My gift came in handy in all the jobs. I made the deaths as quick and painless as possible. I didn't need to torture them, so i merely did what I had to and left.

That was 5 years ago. Now I'm their top assassin and spy. And now I was going to a party merely to spy and figure out how to execute this fighter that was causing some kind of trouble that no one would give me specifics on...joy.

END FLASHBACK

Two hours later, I reached my destination. It was a huge ass mansion, probably bigger than fucking Buckingham Palace and the White House combined. Made sense, since according to what intel I had that most of the fights happened at this house, the meeting usually going on elsewhere. This time was different. The vampires here wanted to show off their prize fighters to all the vampires in their world. Luckily I had fed before getting ready, otherwise I'd probably drain someone once the fights for tonight began. Just as I drove up I got a text. It was from Peter and he was being his usual cryptic asshole self. All the text said was:

**J,**

** control the shock you'll feel. And protect her with your life...because she's your's**

** -P**

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Little did I know that I was about to find out. My future was about to get all kinds of fucked up.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Agent's Target Ch. 2**

As I pulled up, I had to take a few moments to myself. The emotions in the mansion were astounding. As I waited and processed, I also worked through all the scents coming from inside. My thirst was fine, but since I don't spend a lot of time around large groups of humans, or my own kind, it takes a few minutes for me to acclimate. Once I was ready, I stepped out of the car and walked to the front door. As I handed the security guy my invitation, I noticed a familiar silver Volvo and red Convertible parked close to the mansion. I also noticed a fuck ugly yellow Porsche parked next to the Volvo. Fucking great. A reunion with the Pixie Bitch and the Cullens was not what I had in mind for tonight.

Putting them out of my mind for the time being, I gave the invitation card to the security, submitted to a body search, and walked inside. The inside was just as, if not more, ostentatious as the outside. However, it was in tasteful colors, in various shades of red, gold and cream. It resembled the color scheme the Volturi use and soon I found out why. The Volturi were in charge of tonight's event. So the intel we got months ago was right. So why was I here?

I know my employer wants me to assassinate a certain person, but why that person? My information tells me that the Volturi have a fighter that, according to rumor, has the strength and power to defeat vampires. I can see why such a human is a threat, but only when they are threatened in turn. My mind went back to Peter's text. My past was about to return and in more ways than one. What if the human fighter was a part of my past?

Peter had been cryptic when he told me that my past would become my future and I still couldn't figure out what he meant. I still had a bit of time to waste since both the secret meeting, fighter presentation, and fights wouldn't happen for at least a couple more hours. Guests were meant to mingle and socialize until then. As I walked around, I took notice of the other vampires present. I recognized a few nomads, mainly Garrett and Alistair. Alistair's presence was surprising, but I guess old grudges are forgiven sooner or later.

I saw a few of the familiar covens. The only covens that seemed to be missing were the Egyptian and Denali covens. The absence of Amun's coven wasn't too odd, his absence usually meant he was hiding something that he didn't want Aro to find out. Eleazar and the Denali sister's absence was odd, since Eleazar had once been a favorite of the three Kings. However, since a majority of the guests were human drinkers, his absence was understandable. I turned and that's when I saw them. The vegetarians from Hell: the Cullen 'family'.

Still attempting to blend in, even among their own kind, my former family was fashionably dressed, but from the wrong eras and looked ridiculous. Well all but two of them anyway. Rosalie and Emmett were actually dressed pretty nice and normal. Seems they broke the Pixie Bitch's control on them as they were dressed nicely, but not like the other four. Rose was in a blood-red cocktail dress with matching heels and jewelry, while Emmett was wearing black slacks and a red dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I smirked at the sight of his Converse. Ever the rebel, that Emmett. A vibration alerted me to a new text:

**~J~**

** Get them out. They've always been on your side...and hers. Look at the eyes.. **

** ~P~**

Turning back, I saw what Peter meant. Rose and Emmett had red eyes. Not as dark as mine, but they were on their way.. Taking Peter's advice, I sent Emmett a text with my current address and a warning not to let the Pixie Bitch see anything. He looked around and when he finally saw me, he gave a nod barely perceptible even to me. I would get them out and maybe they could help me with my assignment, which I now figure was no longer a mere assassination. If Peter's ramblings were any clue, the fighter I'm supposed to assassinate will be my salvation.

My thoughts are interrupted by said Pixie Bitch practically tackling me and shouting, "Jazzy!" Disgusted, I shoved her away and gave her and the rest of that 'family' my most intimidating look, which worked brilliantly with my red eyes. Carlisle came forward and said, "Jasper, it's good to see you Son. May I ask what are you doing here?" "First of all Dr. Cullen, I am not your son, so you will address me as Major Whitlock. Second, I am here by personal invitation. I am curious as to why you and your family are here, especially with the environment."

I spoke the truth. They were no longer my family and had no right to address me as such and definitely not so informally. As for the other comment, they were the only vegetarian coven in the room. Alice, furious at my rejection said, "We were invited by Aro himself. Not to mention that someone needed to bring a little refinement and decorum into this place full of filthy human drinkers."

Luckily none of the other vampires heard her foolish rant. Looking at what she, Eddie, Carlisle and Esmé were wearing I chuckled, barely holding in a full laugh. Turning to the Pixie Bitch I said, "Refinement? The four of you look ridiculous and bitch, your idea of decorum wouldn't impress the Queen of England herself." With a mocking bow and a belly laugh from Emmett, I left their presence to visit with the other vampires in the room.

I spoke the truth. Esmé and Carlisle were both dressed in fashions from his human time and in horrible shades of purple and green. It suited neither of them. Edward and Pixie Bitch looked like bumblebees in their Victorian costumes. Everyone stared as they went by and all turned away when approached by Pixie Bitch, I mean Alice. Even Eddie was ignored. Carlisle, Esmé, Emmett and Rosalie were the only ones being spoken to. Another text from Peter got my attention:

**~J~**

** They need help too. Talk to the red-head wearing black by the bar. She'll change them up a little. And brace yourself...**

** ~P~**

Cryptic bastard. But I did go to the redhead at the bar and asked her to help the Doc and his wife and only them. She nodded and suddenly the lights went out. A few minutes later, the lights came back on and I could see what she had done. No longer dressed in clothes from his human days, Carlisle now wore black slacks, black dress shoes, and a dark green dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Esmé now wore a one-shoulder floor length gown in the same shade of green with matching shoes and jewelry. Hey don't laugh, when you hang around the Pixie Bitch as much as I did, you learn a few things, even when you don't want to know. Carlisle and Esmé's new outfits were so much better than what they had been wearing earlier. I quickly sent another text to Emmett, telling him to bring Carlisle and Esme and repeating the warning about the Pixie and the Mind Reader.

Alice and Eddie looked pissed, but I don't give a flying fuck anymore. Not too long after, a vampire came out and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? It is time for the presentation." He opened the doors and everyone was ushered in. It was an arena type room, with a fighting pit in the center. There were plenty of chairs for the guests and a platform against one wall that I figured was for the Volturi Kings.

Taking a seat in the front row, I prepared myself for what I would see. I could not interfere, only gather information and hope that I could do something later. After everyone was seated, the Volturi came in. They too were dressed in formal wear, each wearing a tuxedo of some sort. Aro was his usual happy psychotic self and Caius was broody as was his usual. It was Marcus' behavior that was surprising. He was lively, smiling, and seemed to be happily anticipating something. Quite a change from the last time I saw him.

Caius and Marcus sat, leaving Aro standing as usual. Aro, walking forward said, "Welcome honored guests. Tonight, we of the Volturi offer a special treat. Tonight, we present the best fighters from around the world. This is an auction of sorts as well. As each fighter is presented, a chance will be given for any of you to buy or claim that fighter. By claim, we mean a mating claim. Thanks to my esteemed brother Marcus' gift, we have discovered that several of our fighters have immortal mates. So without further delay, let us begin."

A door opened and humans began trailing out. As each human was announced and vitals given, Aro allowed ten minutes for bidding or claims to be heard. The humans, depending on their gender, were dressed to show off. It was tasteful though. The men were dressed in jeans and open shirts, while the women were dressed in halter tops and either tight jeans or leather pants.

As time passed, humans were bought, few were claimed as mates. The few that were, Aro made sure to ask them if they wanted to be claimed, stating that the bond must be consensual on both sides. After about two hours, Aro stood and said, "For our last presentation, we give you our greatest prize and the best fighter we have ever seen."

He motioned to another set of doors. As they opened, a figure stepped into the room. This human, who I quickly discovered was female, was dressed in a way that made the demon inside me purr. Black knee-high, high heel leather boots covered the majority of her legs, the rest by the tight leather pants she wore. A blood-red, skin-tight tank top covered her upper body, but did nothing to cover up the tattoos that graced her skin.

I moved my eyes further up and that's when I finally saw what Peter meant. The familiar scent of strawberries and dark chocolate hit me as I gazed into her deep chocolate eyes.

Fuck me...

Isabella Fucking Swan was my mate...

And I have to kill her...


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: YAY! Another update! Sorry it's been so long, but trying to figure out where to take this story next has been hard. I have it in my head how I want it to go, but the words just didn't want to come out. So here we go. In this chapter, we see some attempts from Edward to 'reclaim' Bella. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! We see why the Volturi have been keeping Bella a secret and we also see the beginnings of Jasper and Bella's mating bond and relationship. Hope I give it justice...**

**Thanks goes out to IDreamofEddy for the term God of War. This is a shout out for all my Jasper stories that use this because it is an awesome term to refer to Jasper by...so Thanks!**

**Here we go...**

**Chapter 3: Learning About Her**

My mate was Bella Swan, though she was not the same Bella Swan I knew five years ago. No, this Bella was a whole lot different and I couldn't help but think that whatever happened to her since I last saw her changed her for the better. I noticed that the Volturi were not looking at her as if she was an 'employee' if I can use that word. They looked at her as if she was family. Interesting. That would be valuable to my employers. It would also make the job I no longer wanted to complete easier and yet harder to do. My employers wanted her dead, but since she was my mate, I couldn't let that happen. I knew that before anything between her and I occurred, I would need to talk to them and update them on the situation.

I had been thinking to myself while Aro rambled on about her vitals and her fight record, but I blinked back into the situation once he announced that she was up for 'sale' or claiming. I saw Edward step forward and say, "She is my mate. I put forward a claim." The room was silent as Aro turned to Isabella and asked, "Do you wish to accept Mr. Cullen's claim upon you?" Isabella turned and looked at Marcus. At the subtle shake of his head, she shook her own and said, "I'll pass. He's not my mate anyway." Aro turned back and said, "Sit down, Mr. Cullen and quit making a fool of yourself."

He looked around at the rest of the room and asked, "Will no one else come and claim Isabella?" Knowing that a lot of questions would come up, I stood and said, " I lay claim to Isabella, she is my mate." I saw Bella's eyes go wide at the sight of me, but she shook the shock away and turned to Marcus. He nodded to her and she said, "I would talk with the Major before I accept his claim. Is that acceptable Aro?" A few other guests gasped at her not calling him by his 'title', but I knew that she was allowed to. He nodded and then turned to the rest of us, "That is all for tonight. Let us take a short break and then the fighting will begin." He and the others left the room and I followed a servant to a bedroom. It was ostentatious, which suited the Volturi, but slightly less uncomfortable than I thought it would be.

A few minutes later, Bella came into the room carrying a rather large duffle bag and backpack. She smiled a little at the sight of me as she put the bags on the bed. Taking a few things out of the duffle, she went behind a old fashioned changing screen and said, "Nice to see you again Jasper? What brings you to a Volturi party?" I didn't want to tell her the real reason, not yet and not where I couldn't be sure I wasn't being overheard so all I said was, "Business. How did you know to call me Major darlin'?" She laughed and said, " Marcus showed me the guest list. Since you're the only Jasper I know in the vampire world, I took a guess that it was you and figured I'd better address you properly."

There was some light behind the changing screen and I saw her changing from the leather outfit she wore into some capri pants and a tank top of some sort. I asked, "So how did you come to be a fighter for the Volturi?" Ii heard her heart stutter a bit and a feeling of immense sadness and fear came from her. I started to walk towards the screen, but she came out and said, "It's a long story that we don't have time for. Let's just say I was in the big city and wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Been with them since I was 18. Happened right after you and your _family _left." I heard the sneer in her voice and decided to correct that immediately.

I went up to her and said, "Darlin', they are not my family and haven't been for some time. I left shortly after we left you and haven't seen them until tonight. Now, anything you really want to ask me before we have to go back out there?" She smirked and said, "Yeah, actually there is. How long have you known that we were mates?" Ah, the big question. I can understand where that one came from. I pulled her gently over to the bed and we sat down. I said, "Darlin, I just figured it out. If you want to know why, I only have a theory. I think Carlisle's diet suppresses our natural instincts, including the mating instinct. I will admit to feeling something when I took care of James at the ballet studio and when you got the paper cut at your party. But I figured it was just blood lust. Forgive me?" I may have turned on the charm a bit.

She smiled, a true big smile, and said, " Take it easy cowboy. You're forgiven. I can understand how Carlisle's attempt to make you more human could do that. Marcus explained it to me somewhat when he told me that I had a vampire mate." I sent a silent big thank you to Marcus for doing that. I had a feeling he was the big reason why she was still human. I heard a gong sound from somewhere and asked, "What the hell does that mean?" Bella was slipping on some shoes as she said, "It means the fighting is about to begin, which means that whatever else we have to talk about must wait." As she walked to the door, I caught her wrist around the bracelet on it. I had noticed it earlier and wanted to ask her about it before things got too crazy.

Bella saw me eying the bracelet and said, "A gift from the kings. Basically it marks me as protected. It also makes me somewhat family to them, which is good since I don't have any anymore." The sadness from earlier returned and I was about to ask when the gong sounded again. She put her hand on my cheek and said, "I promise to answer anymore questions you have after the fighting is over." I nodded and we left the room. As we left, Edward and Pixie Bitch came walking up.

He said, "Bella, what are you doing with him? You know that you are MY mate, not his." I could feel Bella's fury and was about to say something when she did the unthinkable. A small dagger was pulled out of somewhere and she cut her palm. I could smell the sweet scent of her blood, but it no longer affected me as it once did. Now I wanted to do nothing more than protect it until I could turn her. She said, "Edward, I know for a fact that the only thing you want from me is my blood." She licked the blood from her hand and then did something quite amazing and vicious. She spat the blood into his face and said, "That's all you want and that's all you get. Now you and Pixie Bitch get the fuck out of my way." She pushed past their shocked forms and walked over to the fighting pit where the other fighters were also standing. I brushed past them as well and went to my new seat where other vampires were sitting to watch their new mates fight.

Aro, Caius and Marcus came back into the room and after a few words and a rule that mated fighters were not allowed to be killed, the fighting began. I can tell you this, despite the fact that I have the customary vampire memory, I could not tell you one detail of the fighting I witnessed until it was Bella's turn. She was fighting against a unmated male fighter who I sensed was not at all well and knew it. Her fighting technique was almost perfect, as if she had been trained by either myself or another soldier from the Southern Vampire Wars. My phone buzzed again and I read:

**She was trained by one of us. I had to keep an eye on her somehow.**

** -P**

Figures, but I couldn't be mad at him. Had Peter not trained her, she probably wouldn't have made it this far and I never would have found her again. The fight between her and the male seemed to go on forever before she finally pinned him to the ground. He wasn't mated, but the rule still applied to him because he was marked as a feeder. I hated that some of my kind kept to this practice, but I could do nothing about it. Bella was about to let him up when he pulled her towards him and whispered something in her ear. I could hear it, but only just so.

He said, "Please Bella, I need you to do this. You know what will happen if they feed from me." I had ignored the smell of his blood as the fight had been going on, but I stopped and sniffed. The smell nearly made me retch and that was impossible for my kind. The human had AIDS or at least HIV. I knew that what he was asking was not only mercy for himself, but also mercy for whatever vampire he was to be handed to for feeding. Normally human diseases didn't affect us, HIV and AIDS included. But if the disease was far enough along, it could leave the vampire that drank the blood weak and vulnerable for months, if not years. This human was a death sentence for any vampire that drank from him.

Bella nodded and lifted him up slightly. She wrapped her hands and arms around his neck and twisted. The snap of the neck bones was audible to everyone in the room. She had given him a quick death without spilling the deadly blood running through his veins. She closed his open eyes and placed his arms over his chest. As she stood, Aro also stood and said, "Isabella, why have you broken the rules? You know better than that." She turned to face him and said, "I may have broken this rule, but I saved others in doing so. Drinking his blood would have killed anyone who drank from him."

Gasps rang out at her declaration. Aro looked at the other two kings beside him and at their nods, he said, "At this truth, we forgive you. Now, if all the fighter would please go clean up and get ready for the ball. Thank you all for joining us and I hope you will stay and mingle." I always thought Aro was nuts, but this was even weirder than I ever thought possible. I decided to shake it off and go with Bella back to what I believed was her room.

As I entered the room we had previously exited, I saw a large bath being prepared and a woman laying out a garment bag and some other things. Bella came out of the closet I believe it was, wrapped only in a short robe. She jumped slightly at the sight of me. but shook it off and asked, "Are you going to watch me bathe now?" I smirked and said, "Well I figured now would be the best time for us to talk darlin', if that's okay with you?" She nodded and before I could really blink, she had stripped off the robe and settled into the tub.

As she leaned back and let the water soak into her skin, I grabbed a footstool and sat beside the tub. I asked, "How you feelin' Bella?" "A little sore, but that's nothing new. Luckily I didn't get any cuts or bruises." I looked over the skin that I could see and didn't notice any bruises that had yet to form or any open wounds. She was a good fighter if she didn't have any. She quickly washed her hair and body and then just soaked for a bit.

I took the time while she was soaking to look at the tattoos on her skin. She caught me looking and said, "I have one for each of you, minus Pixie Bitch and Assward of course. I wanted to keep you guys close, even though I didn't think I'd never see you again." Apparently Bella lost her shyness a while back because she stood up, body glistening with water, stepped out of the tub and pointed at each tattoo.

A rose on her ankle was for Rosalie, who she loved as a sister despite how Rose treated her in the past. A teddy bear on the other ankle was obviously for Emmett who always treated her like a little sister. A caduceus with the word 'Dad' underneath it was for Carlisle because she not only loved him as a father, but also for his ability to heal. A Celtic heart was on the other wrist and she told me that this was for Esmé because her love for her children was never-ending and eternal. She went silent after that and I wondered what she had chosen to remember me by. She turned from me and that was when I saw it. It was this Tree of Life tattoo that covered her whole back and was surrounded by Celtic knotwork. But that didn't seem to represent me. No, she hid that one and had been teasing me with the one on her back. She turned back to face me and I saw what she had been hiding. My real name, Whitlock, was tattooed over her heart.

I reached out as if to touch it, but hesitated because despite the fact that I had declared she was my mate, I had yet to touch her in an intimate way. Not that I wasn't dying to, but I wanted to take things slowly with her, especially since I still had to figure out how to protect her from my employers. Bella nodded though and I ran my fingers over the letters. It suited her, the tattoo and now I was curious as to when she got it done and why there. However I was stopped yet again but yet another gong. I growled in frustration and Bella giggled at the sound. She said, " Steady Major. You'll have all the time in the world to ask me questions after we get through the dancing and mingling part of tonight. Though you will have to wait until after the meeting to do so." I nodded, pulled her to me and said, "So it seems darlin'. However, I'm not leavin' here again without at least getting one kiss from you."

Her naked body was driving me mad with the heat and it took everything I had in me to just stop with a kiss. I leaned down slowly, giving her a chance to stop me if she wasn't ready. She didn't. She arched up into my touch and I claimed her mouth hard and passionately. Her body practically moulded to mine as we kissed. I was this close to carrying her over to the bed when a second gong sounded throughout the room, interrupting us. I growled again and she laughed. Turning away from me and reaching for the dress on the bed she said, " Be nice cowboy and we'll finish this later."

She slipped the dress over her head and zipped it up along the side. She slipped a pair of silver heels onto her feet as she walked over to the vanity and began messing with the stuff on it. She quickly put her hair up in a messy bun, which showed off the tattoo on her back and put some light makeup on. By light, I mean some lip gloss, eye shadow and mascara. That was one thing I had always liked about Bella, she was not high maintenance. She was a simple girl who liked simple things.

A buzz alerted me to another text. I flipped it and read another text from Peter. All it said was to check my jacket pocket. Confused, I put the phone back into m jacket and felt around. I found a small box there that I had surprisingly not noticed when I had gotten dressed earlier. Taking it out and opening, I found what I needed to give Bella before we left the room. It was my family crest on a pendant. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to get the point across. No one would touch Isabella as long as she wore this necklace.

I saw her reaching for a necklace and said, "Hold on there sugar. I got somethin' for ya." I went up behind her and placed the necklace around her neck, fastening it as I stood behind her. She touched the crest and gave me a look of wonder. I smiled and said, "Mated women who are not fully claimed need to wear something that alerts others as to who their mate is. Until I turn you, this will protect you from other vampires that try to claim you for any reason." She nodded and said, "I will never take it off, willingly or otherwise." I smiled, kissed her head and asked, "May I escort you to the dance Miss Swan?" She giggled and said, "It would an honor if you would Major Whitlock." I laughed and we left the room.

As we entered the large ballroom I had been in earlier, I felt a slight apprehension and fear coming from Bella. When I turned to ask her why I was feeling those things, I could see her staring at someone in fear. I followed her line of sight to a rather pissed off Pixie Bitch and Assward. I whispered, "Why are you afraid of them darlin'? They can't do anything to you." She looked up at me and said, "The kind of hurt I am afraid of is not physical. I'm not really afraid of them, just afraid of what they might say to hurt either you or me. Just keep me away from them please Jasper?" I nodded and pulled her closer to me.

She and I walked around the room and I introduced her to a few other vampires that I considered allies if not friends. She and Garrett got along great and I had a feeling I could use him in some way in the near future. She was okay around Alistair, but kept her distance still. I wanted to reunite her with Emmett and Rosalie, and maybe even Carlisle and Esmé, but not yet. I needed to know if I could trust them around her and to be honest, I needed to talk to my employers and try and keep her safe before any reunions took place. My biggest issue was the fact that she didn't seem to want to talk about her father. I tried to bring it up as we walked around, but she either ignored the question or changed the subject. Either she didn't want to talk about him with all the vampires around, or she was trying to forget him for some reason. I'd figure it out sooner or later.

The music started shortly after we finished talking to Alistair, so I turned to Bella and asked, "Care to dance darlin'?" She nodded and we made our way out onto the dance floor. Of course the teasing would never be over because the next song was the tango. As we danced and I held her close to my body, I could feel everything underneath her dress. That reminds me...

I leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Are you wearing any panties sugar?" The giggle that came from her throat was erotic and throaty as she said, "None at all Major." The growl I let out should have scared her, but it didn't. In fact, it seemed to turn her on. My mate was full of surprises it seemed. We finished the song and then went to sit down and just observe. However, fate it seemed would not let us have a simple night together. Right as we made it to the table, who should step out in front of us but Pixie Bitch and Assward.

Alice said, "Jasper, step away from her, you know that she is Edward's mate, as you are mine." Bella had moved behind me, just as I would have wanted her to in this kind of situation. Apparently she had also been taught other things by Marcus. I would need to find out a gift for the man for keeping my mate informed of the real world that surrounded her. Getting back to the stupid twins, I noticed that Edward was staring at my Isabella with lust and something else in his eyes. I hissed and said, "Move your eyes away Eddie, or lose them." He blinked and faced me. I said to Alice, "Alice, I know for a fuckin' fact that you and I are not mates and that Bella and I are. It was confirmed by Marcus himself, so unless you'd like to publicly denounce our host's gift, I suggest you move on and shut the fuck up."

Our little confrontation was not without witnesses, but it seemed that everyone was on my side. Garrett came up to us with his mate, who I realized was Bella's human friend Angela from Forks, and stood toe to toe with me against them. Alistair followed, as did Emmett and Rosalie. She and Angela stood behind us with Bella, but she was in a semi-protective crouch, just in case. I said, "Alice and Edward, unless you want to start an actual fight, I again suggest that you move out of my way and that of Isabella's and leave us alone for the rest of eternity." Leaning close I whispered, "Unless of course you would like to deal with the Major and not myself."

Edward's eyes went wide at my threat, no doubt remembering why I was such a threat to him as the Major. He grabbed Alice's arms and said, "Let's go Alice, we don't need to do this." She ripped them from his grasp and said, "Yes, I do. He is mine and I won't give him up to that human whore of yours." Anger flooded me and I turned to see who it was coming from. Imagine my surprise when Bella came out from behind me and slapped Alice with all her strength. I winced in preparation of the pain I would feel from her after doing so, but I felt nothing.

Bella wasn't in pain, just mad as hell. Standing beside me she said, "Whore? You're calling me whore Alice? That's rich, coming from you. I can smell about 5 other guys on you, including Eddie here, so don't you fucking dare call me a whore. Deacon!" A servant came out from behind one of the blood bar tables and asked, "Yes, Miss Isabella?" Bella rolled her eyes and said, "Alert the Masters that we have a problem. I don't wish to get my hands dirty by dealing with her." The man bowed and left the room. Alec, one of the Volturi guard appeared out of nowhere and said, "Isabella, I'll make sure they don't leave." We all backed away as his vapor, the form in which his gift of immobilizing others came out, made its way towards Alice and Edward. They fell to the floor in heaps and he kept them surrounded in it while we moved away.

Going with Garrett to his table, I sat Bella down and examined the hand that she slapped Alice with. No bruising, no bleeding, no injury of any kind. Looking up at her I asked, "How is this possible darlin'?" She sighed and said, " It's part of the story I need to tell you. Let's just say that James' venom did a lot more to me than you think, as did Victoria's."

Before I could ask her anything else, the doors opened and the three Kings came into the room. They walked over to where Alice and Edward were being 'held' and we were waved over to join them. Alec was told to end his gift and once they were free of it, Alice and Edward were held immobile by Demetri and Felix. Aro turned to me and asked, "What happened here Major?" I held out my hand, knowing it was the easiest way for him to see what happened. He took it and gazed into my memories. The bland look on his face quickly disappeared and was replaced by absolute fury. He turned to Jane, who was at his side and said, "Jane, just on the girl." She nodded and soon Alice was screaming in pain.

After a few minutes of this torture, Aro stopped Jane and said, "Alice Cullen, how dare you insult that which is dear to us and who is mated to the God of War?! Isabella is his mate and nothing can change that. Leave now and never return." He turned to Edward and said, "The same goes for you as well boy. Get out." Edward picked Alice up and carried her out of the room and the house. Aro turned to the rest of the guests and said, "I do apologize for that. We do not tolerate rudeness. Ever." He and the others walked away and were seen mingling with the other guests. I gathered Bella in my arms and asked, "Are you okay darlin'?" She nodded and said, "I'm fine cowboy. I am a little hungry though." I nodded and lead her to the buffet that had been laid out for the human fighters. As she selected what she wanted, I asked, "So did Angela get taken at the same time as you?"

She sighed and said, "Yes and no. I'll explain more after we leave. I will get to see her right?" I looked over to where Garrett and Angela were standing and asked him. He nodded and told me that whenever they wanted to see each other, he would bring Angela to visit. I noticed that he had a cell phone, so I quickly texted him my address so that he'd have it. Bella finished selecting her food and we sat down. As she ate, I stared at her form. She had aged well in the past five years. There was a sadness around her eyes though and I wondered how many nights she spent crying over the life she had lost after being captured by the Volturi.

Some time later, she finished her meal and we resumed our mingling. We didn't mingle long though, for members of the guard came into the room and came up to each of us, ready to escort us to the secret meeting that was to occur. Demetri came up to Garrett and myself and told us that he would keep an eye on the girls while we were at the meeting. I looked at Bella to see if she would be okay with it and she nodded saying, "Demetri and I are friends. He will protect me with all of his black little heart." Demetri actually laughed and said, "Indeed I will Bella." I nodded, kissed her quickly, and followed the others to a rather large conference hall type room. Sitting in the chair that was pointed out for me, I waited for the meeting to begin.

I had come to this eager to find out information for my employers. Now, I was eager for it to be over so I could take Isabella away from here and to my home. I was eager to begin our forever together.

Aro, Caius and Marcus entered the room. Marcus looked at me and mouthed that he would talk to me after the meeting was over. I nodded and turned to listen to whatever Aro and Caius would say. Maybe if I gave my employers enough intel from the meeting, they would drop the assassination target on Bella. I could only hope...


End file.
